In theory you're right. But it's not like we've seen a huge influx of Switch games. What are all the 3ds studios even doing?
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New Nintendo president Furukawa: “considering various possibilities” for 3DS successor
- Thread starter Phil32
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In theory you're right. But it's not like we've seen a huge influx of Switch games. What are all the 3ds studios even doing?
i can see the market for a 3DS successor. £280 for a Switch is a lot of money for a lot of people. a 3DS is ~£130 and the games are cheaper.
i think they should drop the price of the switch to £200-230 and release an entry level Switch model for ~£130-150 to replace the 3DS.
i think they should drop the price of the switch to £200-230 and release an entry level Switch model for ~£130-150 to replace the 3DS.
Yes. Basically what Furukawa is saying is that, whether the 3DS gets a successor or not will depend entirely on how far they can take Switch and Mobile. If Nintendo's smartphone games start doing insane profits, and if the Switch does evolve the way they want it to, then it's just Switch and Mobile at this point. If things don't go according to plan though, then they may start prototyping a successor. It's the same attitude they had with the DS. If it failed or people weren't using it like Nintendo wanted, then a Game Boy Ultimate would've happened. But once people started catching onto the DS, then the Game Boy ceased to exist, and the DS became Nintendo's new handheld.
Furukawa is saying nothing new here, Kimishima said something similar way back in February.
Yes, but the game was designed to be played with the Joy-Con controls. Take them out, you take out a key aspect of the game. There's also other games like Labo, which relies on the detachable nature of the controllers. Then there's also the whole marketing message of the Switch "Play Anytime, Anywhere, with Anyone" and the built-in multiplayer of the Joy-Con are key in that. The Joy-Con are ingrained deep into the design and marketing of the Switch, and are what separates it from any generic phone or tablet. Take them away, you take away 90% of the system's appeal.
Wasn't Iwata main goal behind the NX concept was to unify the development efforts.
NX might not be just Switch it might be a lot of devices or services.
NX might not be just Switch it might be a lot of devices or services.
Sure, you can play it that way, but it's really clear that the game is designed and marketed around motion controls with the split joycons. Like, take Snipperclips. You can play Snipperclips with two Pro Controllers if you want, but the whole idea is to just pop off the joycons and share one with a friend, right? If you make a Switch that can't do that, you're basically disincentivizing developers from making games based around split joycons. Games with Wii-style motion control wouldn't work on that Switch. Games with local split-joycon multiplayer wouldn't work. Labo wouldn't be compatible. It'd be a much more substantial loss than dropping 3D on the 3DS was.
This is like 99% what they are going to do.
They've already united their console and portable development houses. It wouldn't make sense to separate them all over again.
I don't see how this won't be harmful to Switch.
- Diminishes Switch's handheld status
- Takes money/time/resources away from Switch games
You guys realize making a "Switch Lite" doesn't stop them from making a "Switch Plus" or something, right?
You mean kind of like how a "2DS" was considered a joke concept that undermined the central marketing aspect of the 3DS ... until of course Nintendo went ahead and actually did it.
Nothing new from Nintendo, Next year could be the last year where the 3DS line sells 1m+ units, it seems like a good time to bring out a system that retains the positives they talk about.
lol
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Making a Switch Lite would severely limit the games to what could simultaneously run on the lowest Switch system. What's the point in owning a Switch Plus if you can only play upressed versions of low scale games?
Portable mode already heavily constrains Switch titles. Imagine the performance issues/scale problems even weaker hardwarw would introduce.
3D wasn't as ingrained into the 3DS design as the Joy-Con are to the Switch. Most players didn't use 3D, it was mandated to be optional for every game, and it had health hazards to kids under 7. There are very good reasons the 2DS was created. On the flipside, most people are using the Joy-Con the way Nintendo intended, and Nintendo doesn't mandate developers to support all the Switch's play styles. Thus, developers can take a ton of risks in how they design Switch games, as they're not bound by any restricted way to use the system, Super Mario Party's dual Switch games and Nintendo Labo are good examples of how far you can push the utility of the Switch. 3D isn't as much of a gameplay enhancement as the Joy-Con are, and thus you can't just get rid of them as they are integral to the entire point and message of the Switch.
It wouldn't be weaker hardware, any more than the 2DS was weaker than the 3DS, or the DS Lite was weaker than the original DS. It would be the same hardware.
Well I'd stop buying Nintendo consoles. I bought the Wii U and was burnt out. I don't trust Nintendo to support a portable and a home console in the HD era.
It's easier for Nintendo to just release Smartphone games than to pump a ton of R&D into trying to compete in an over-saturated market.
It would technically be possible as Nintendo's development tools and techniques these days are different from the Wii U era. But it'd just be unnecessary. Anything a theoretical dedicated handheld can do, the Switch can do just as well, in some ways better.
The 3D in the 3DS was a monumental fuck up on Nintendo's part. They spent so long trying to convince people it didn't harm your eyesight, it made the thing exponentially more expensive at launch, and most late game first party titles didn't even use it.
The joycons are part of the incredibly well marketed "click" logo that begins each and every Switch trailer. They are a fantastic way to ensure multiplayer is;
1) available out of the box, however hand crampy
2) Available wherever you take the Switch.
I might be wrong, and Nintendo yes have done weirder things, but I consider it bizarre that people are just assuming a non-joycon model will definitely, absolutely happen.
Reminds me of the people who reckoned they'd launch a Wiimote-less Wii, which to my knowledge they never did.
If they wanna make that money like they did during the Wi era, then they're gonna need a second console.
On top of the Wii being a massive success they also had the DS which was incredibly successful in it own right. Unless they want to put all of thier eggs into the switch the smart play is to upgrade the 3DS but still keep it relatively cheap. Maybe upgrade it to a 480p handheld with slightly more power and market it to kids since nearly all switch marketing has focused on young adults/teens.
On top of the Wii being a massive success they also had the DS which was incredibly successful in it own right. Unless they want to put all of thier eggs into the switch the smart play is to upgrade the 3DS but still keep it relatively cheap. Maybe upgrade it to a 480p handheld with slightly more power and market it to kids since nearly all switch marketing has focused on young adults/teens.
Are you sure you're not thinking of a Gamepad-less Wii U? I only remember that one. As it turned out Nintendo decided it would be better off just letting it die, and they probably did the right thing.
Pokemon is coming to Switch. Yokai Watch is moving to Switch. It's about to get a handheld style RPG with Octopath Traveler. Sushi Striker. There's actually a bigger influx than you think.
If Smartphone games take off like Nintendo wants them to, then they won't need one.
I think it all depends on whether they can get the base cost of the system down. They clearly don't want to give up on the lower end of the market, hence the continued 3DS support.
If the switch can be reduced in cost or made cheaper with a new model then there'll be no 3DS successor. If not then expect something aimed at that market.
If the switch can be reduced in cost or made cheaper with a new model then there'll be no 3DS successor. If not then expect something aimed at that market.
The only correct option. Some dockless system that people feel better about taking anywhere - also seamless cloud saves between devices.
A lot of people freaking out about Nintendo making an iterative revision of the Switch in here. Did everyone similarly freak out when stuff like the 3DS XL, or GBA SP were announced?
There's a lot of cost savings and changes that could be made to a Switch if they were making a smaller handheld only revision to supplant the 3DS's market position.
Edit: and those cost savings or changes don't remove any functionality from the existing switch. If things like removable joycons are a key feature for you, Nintendo won't remove that option from the market, just also offer a cheaper alternative.
There's a lot of cost savings and changes that could be made to a Switch if they were making a smaller handheld only revision to supplant the 3DS's market position.
Edit: and those cost savings or changes don't remove any functionality from the existing switch. If things like removable joycons are a key feature for you, Nintendo won't remove that option from the market, just also offer a cheaper alternative.
i think the 3DS "sucessor" could be the portable-only Switch that people keep suggesting. that way they can prevent confusion with the regular Switch's SKUs and sell the new one with separate marketing and branding.
Whatever they do they must never again have two walled-off ecosystems with unique software and development tools. If they release another dedicated handheld then it should have the internals of a Switch without removable joycons, HD Rumble, dock etc.
Really what they should do is release more mobile software and let that be their portable stuff for kids, hopefully feeding into the dedicated gaming hardware.
Really what they should do is release more mobile software and let that be their portable stuff for kids, hopefully feeding into the dedicated gaming hardware.
This. My guess is a switch lite, think about a gameboy micro for It.
You know what he is saying, don't play fool
This. Not sure why so many people think '3DS successor' means different hardware with exclusive games. Nintendo have been saying for ages that it's positioning in the market as an entry level device is what's important, have reorganised their company to have all employees focused on Switch, and Iwata said years ago that the iOS model of one software line on a family of products is the model they should aim for.
What 3DS has in it's favour is a range of cheap games, thats how they've been selling it recently, not focusing on the aging hardware differences. I suspect we'll see a 'Switch mini' accompanied by most of the early million-sellers rebranded as Nintendo Selects at the £20 price point specifically aimed at getting the younger 3DS audience they've been serving to upgrade a couple of years down the line.
Not going to tell Nintendo on how to run it's business but jesus, just focus on the switch! No new handhelds please... for awhile at least.
They are doing exactly that. From the shareholders meeting:
Why is it that any mention of having a dedicated portable successor alongside their premium flagship hybrid product automatically has people expecting a '4DS' rather than what they've been pointing towards in terms of one product line of games on a family of systems for years. It's inevitable that there will be Switch revisions at some point, and considering the size of it a dedicated portable form factor seems like at least one of the more likely options.
As long as it doesn't split development resources for software again, why not?
I'm far away from being interested in a thing like that but I don't like portables in general anyway.
Now if that portable thing is completely different hardware and requires separate software as well, then hell no!
What excited me about the Switch approach the most was the consolidation of Nintendo's software efforts, not that I could barely play it on the go. If that were to go away again it would feel like a huge loss.
I'm far away from being interested in a thing like that but I don't like portables in general anyway.
Now if that portable thing is completely different hardware and requires separate software as well, then hell no!
What excited me about the Switch approach the most was the consolidation of Nintendo's software efforts, not that I could barely play it on the go. If that were to go away again it would feel like a huge loss.
Because we are talking about Nintendo here, and Nintendo will Nintendo things that have us always saying.... "really... why?" But hey I'm all for switch revisions or a beefed up switch
To be fair they are always saying they like to surprise people. If Miyamoto and Reggie take the stage with a 4DS announcement headlined by Ice Climbers DX and Balloon Fight Remastered, I would definitely be surprised! :D
They're doing that one way or another though. That's never been a secret. Either mobile takes off and they put the development resources there, or they use them for a handheld if mobile doesn't.
Looking at how their input hasn't improved, I believe they are actually planning a 3ds successor
I'm guessing a year from now, Nintendo's language hasn't really changed regarding 3DS successors since the Switch launch.
It's hard to believe that, when they said they're 100% dedicated to the Switch at the moment.
Their mobile titles are completely different though and (as far as I know) not developed in house. What's the point of making a hybrid console if you aren't going to consolidate handheld and home console titles to a single console. That was...the whole pitch with the Switch.
A handheld only Switch I can easily handle. A seperate handheld with its own exclusive library...that would be a pretty shitty thing for Nintendo to do. At least until the Switch has run its course.